The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1887-03-11
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER
WASHINGTON, ID. G.. March nh. l.

WASHINGTON, ID. c.. March 1h. Is :.
The Fory-Ninth Congress las passed mo
history. 1t leaves record which compares
most favorably with that Of any Congress, Of
recent years, and snrpasseS that Of almost ev-
cry Congress which was divided by tie two
1t afiol Ged a striking example, too. If tie
constant increase in The volume # desired le. :
islation which has been going on for The last
six or eight years. More bills We're ntrnduy-
ed in both Houses of tie Forty Ninth. more
committee reports were made. more bills
were passed, more became laws and moe
were vetoed than ever before by any Congress
There were introduced into the House dur
ing the two sessions, lI,25S bills and .G:' joint
resolutions, on which over 5000 reports We're
made This was several thousand more bills
and over a thousand more reports than were
made by The Forty Eighth Congress, viii, h
had in its tuln. beaten tie record. In II e
Sc nate there wCre introduced over ) 600 bills
on hich nearly two Tho nsand written reports
were made, being upward of 800 more bills
than by the lecold-tleaking Forty Eighth
The deatl-roll also of the last Congress IVES
unusually long, comprising thirteen names.
The total number of laws enacted was
about $50, while 1872 were vetoed by tie
President, making twen'y-one more insta' C.,
of the exercise of the Presidential. prero- ati,e
Of veto than ha occurred flom the founda-
ton OF the Govern ment down to the begin ,
ming Of this cnsress. Only one private pen
sion bill and ole public bill, namely, that
providing for Government building al Day
to n, Ohio, sucCs ed. d in passing both houses
over the Presidents Veto As to What Ie-
came of various important bills which failed,
lack of space will forbid me to tell their whole
story in detail Quite Il number of Them
however, which were passed by both houses
never reached tie President because of d il;l-
enceS in regard to item between Tie two
houses.
Congress w:s III session tie VIII. L. night
preceding The day of adjournment. Tie
House, with unusual petinacity. sat cortinu
eusly from eight O'Clock Thursday night UNI
til Friday noon, lie Eour the session closed.
Congress revelses the usual circumstances
which assoc a themselves with de ath
scene. 1t does away with all solemnity and
quiet. decorous hush AMI suppression of
noise People who want to witness the most
rioous scenes Of which representative body
can be guilty, have only to crowd the gale
ries during lie dying hours Of Congress. If
they walt to see men of leputed dignity in
un disnif:ed antics. they will not be disap-
pointed, for there is license hen which at
other times is never INDUCED.
When it was rumorcd, about noon on FIJI
day, that the President was on his way to the
Capitol at the request of Speaker Carlisle.
who informed him that certain scarcely fin
ished bills coul d be saved in no other way
the crowd sur.ed toward tie Senate wing
the Pre>en Is 70, m being in that end of the
Capitol.
The Pr. 5 idehl came with several members
of his Cabinet. repaired TO his room and set
tied down 10 business. But the clock now
pointed to twelve. There was a limit to the
speed and endurance Of clerical fingers, ana
tie tae sed-cu enrolling clerks who had been
luDIng race with time won only in the
case If the District Appropriation bill. And
this was due to that venerable officer Capt.
Bassett, who armed himself with gas-ligher
and Gas he has done biennally for 4 qunrter of
a century, mounted chair and pulled back
the hands of the Senate clock. The Presi-
den: signed this promptly. but the hands OF
the clock crept up to twelve again before the
Deficiency bill could be engros>cd and it
f1ilatl